Here stands a conduit containing a veritable mishmash of varied topics and thoughts dedicated to the raw musings that somehow manage to pop into the heads of two Random Plebeians in American society...One's abroad. One's not. Both try to avoid getting angry and cynical.

28 November 2012

Concerning the Sexual and Marriage Markets -- Part V (First Piece)

[Due to the sheer length of this Part, it is being posted in smaller pieces for the sake of readability. Here is the first piece.]

V. What about the Nakified and Semi-Nakified Models?

Naturally, the argument over whether the unclothed human body is an art form still simmers within our society. Even among men, there remains a fair degree of debate as to what the effects of engaging in any sort of long-term relationship (LTR) with a woman who also does modelling, and if the short-term gains translate decently overall. Clearly the issue is quite complex.

Over the last few months, this is something I myself have pondered as I’ve seen numerous pictures get recycled around the Internet, such as on Facebook and some of the online-dating sites. Not only does the presence of fake social media profiles itself raise interesting points, but the fact that a significant number employ pictures of scantily-clad models.

I decided to look at some of the model pictures I’ve seen, plus check out several sites and then weigh out the effects. Thus this section is the result of my semi-educated analysis. In sum, approximately 50 different model portfolios were reviewed along with numerous fake profiles. Also, I did get a chance to talk briefly with a couple of former models.

So, without further ado, here are my findings:

To start, I shall define the five pertinent classes of modelling that will be used in this part. In addition, I shall as well provide meaning into a few related terms. From there, I find it is easiest to look at each class and assess the effects on SMV and MMV by class, as each one has different aspects that can change dramatically.

The five classes, in order from least impacting on MMV to most, are defined for all of the purposes of this part as thus:

De Minimis/Unintentional/Amateur: Occasional modelling that is either intended to be fully-private (such as between couples), is obviously a “one-off” session, or clearly is meant to omit any significant sexual intent—such as posing for an art project or at the local college for their fine arts classes.

Lingerie and Swimwear: the professional model is in her underwear or wearing swimwear, and such clothing is fully opaque and fully covering her nipples and vulva. Further, such depictions do not otherwise classify as de minimis or pornography.

Topless: only the model’s breasts are fully viewable. Topless modelling shall also include implied topless shots where her breasts aren’t actually viewable, but her pose or the shot as a whole suggests as such. Finally, the model’s topless depictions do not otherwise classify as de minimis or pornography

Nudity: within a given professional model’s portfolio, the model’s bare breasts and vulva are fully viewable by the viewer, including the wearing of transparent or translucent clothing. For the purposes of this section, nude modelling shall also include implied nudity. Further, the model’s nude depictions do not otherwise classify as de minimis or pornography.

Pornography: within a professional model’s portfolio and/or live-performances, she is clearly depicted as performing sexual acts on herself through stimulation of her genitals (such as her vulva, vaginal opening, or anus), or engaging in any clear sexual contact with another individual. Neither sexual climax nor formal recognition from the pornography industries shall be necessary to establish a model’s status as a pornography model.

In short, the lingerie, topless, and nude classes can be broadly considered to be equivalent of the colloquial “soft-core pornography” whereas the pornography class can roughly correlate to “hard-core.”

Further, additional terms are:

-Fully-viewable: certain parts of the model’s body can be seen by the average viewer because the model has either bared that part, or is wearing translucent or insufficiently opaque clothing that render such parts unmistakably visible as if they were bared.
-Implied modelling: the concept that while certain bodily parts that would clearly indicate the model is topless or nude are not overtly shown to the viewer, the lack of clothes combined with strategic placement of hands, arms, or props suggests the model as being topless or nude
-Professional modelling: for the purposes of this section, professional modelling shall include all of the classes except for the amateur/unintentional/de minimis class, and images of the model can both be classified as part of her portfolio and offered for consumption to the general public. Whether the model receives recognition, print time, and/or pecuniary compensation, or whether she would be considered by the modelling industry as “professional” shall be irrelevant.
-Sexual Contact: for the purposes of this section, this shall include any sort of penetrative sexual activity, as well as clearly-sexual acts such as mutual masturbation or sexual stimulation (e.g. foreplay and "solo" masturbation)
-Sexual Intent: as opposed to purely artistic forms, sexual intent for these purposes shall be defined thus: sexual intent is present if the model’s image can at the minimum be reasonably expected to cause intentional sexually arousal when viewed by the average man-on-the-street or to otherwise influence said man’s thought processes by way of sexual suggestiveness.